


It's Going To Be Okay, Big Brother

by KissedByAShadow



Series: Shadowhunters 3x16 Ficlets [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), Shadowhunters (TV) RPF, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt Alec Lightwood, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Pain, Siblings, Unconsciousness, Waiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-29 17:51:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18299174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KissedByAShadow/pseuds/KissedByAShadow
Summary: Everything's going to be okay,he thinks warmly. He isn't sure to what extent he believes it, but the thought is comforting all the same. That, and the knowledge that his family will always be by his side."Thank you, Max."-Or, Max finds out about Magnus, and gives Alec a call.





	It's Going To Be Okay, Big Brother

**Author's Note:**

> I am incredibly sorry for any and all pain this might have caused.

He brushes Magnus's hair away for what's probably the two hundredth time that day, leaning forward to press a kiss to his forehead when he hears footsteps.

The footfall is easily recognizable, something he hears quite often, especially in recent times. The sound of his mother's heels clicking against the linoleum tiles is muted by the sharp buzzing that seems to constantly fill his head now as she heads towards him. 

"Alec," She says, standing beside him. 

"Yes?" He asks, swivelling around in his stool, one hand still resting on Magnus's forehead. He turns around to find his mother's arm outstretched, a phone in her hand. The screen is illuminated; there's clearly something written on it, but Alec finds he can't make out the words, the letters blurring together in a sharp haze of discomfort.

"Who is it?" He questions, reaching out to take the phone from his mother, squinting uselessly at the screen. 

"Max." She tells him, her voice hushed, as if she's afraid that he'll break altogether if she speaks too loudly. He isn't sure how much of a lie that is anymore.

Silently, he places the phone against his ear, bracing himself for the conversation that's about to come. He has no idea if anyone's told Max about Magnus; he's praying no one has. The last thing he needs right now is for his little brother to worry about him. 

"Alec?" Max asks, the minute he brings the phone up to his face. 

"Hey, Max." Alec says, feigning nonchalance as he forces a smile onto his face. "What's up?" He continues casually.

"I heard about Magnus." Max tells him bluntly, a trait all the Lightwoods seem to share. Alec closes his eyes, his shoulders slumping as he sighs.

"Mom told me." Max says, continuing before Alec can manage a glare at his mother. "How's Magnus?" He asks, his tone worried. "Is he okay?"

And Alec would've laughed - if he could find it in him - at the innocence in Max's question, at the naivety in his tone. Trust him to believe that Magnus could truly be okay after everything that's happened lately. 

"Magnus is... fine." Alec says after a pause, struggling to get the words past his throat. He swallows thickly, switching the phone from one ear to the other, the buzz of static only adding to his constant headache as he speaks. 

"Can I talk to him?" Max asks suddenly, surprising Alec. He chokes back on a sob that threatens to escape, looking at Magnus with a forlorn expression on his face, his eyes wet with unshed tears. 

"Magnus isn't awake." He tells Max truthfully, hoping his little brother doesn't ask him to go into too many details. He doesn't think he can handle explaining everything to someone else one more time.

"Okay." Max says, much to his relief. "Tell him to call me when he wakes up, okay?" His brother says, and this time, Alec finally does manage a laugh. It's more of a chuckle, really, but it's something.

"What's so funny?" Max inquires curiously.

"Nothing." Alec assures him, his amusement dying down already. "I'll tell him to call, I promise." Alec continues, desperately forcing the dark voice in his head that keeps supplying the words ' _If Magnus wakes up_ ' away. 

"Okay." Max says again. In the background, Alec can hear the sound of someone calling out his name. "I have to go." He tells him. "Take care, Alec." 

And Alec tries to respond with a casual "yeah," mentally patting himself on the back for holding it together for so long - although there isn't really much to celebrate - but his breath hitches, and his words get stuck in a choke that he never intended to happen in the first place. The sudden, gasping sound he makes is quickly morphed into a cough, but Max is a Lightwood, after all, and he isn't fooled. 

"Alec?" He says carefully, pronouncing his name slowly. When Alec doesn't respond, the static punctuated by a short, silent sniffle, Max sighs. 

"It's going to be okay, big brother." He says into the phone, and suddenly, he sounds incredibly mature, wise beyond his years.

"I promise." At that, Alec lets out a strange noise, somewhere between a laugh and a sob, as he marvels at the irony of the situation. He's always been the one to comfort Max, to guide him in the right way. And now? Now, the tables have turned so drastically, he never would've imagined this happening. He still remembers the day Max walked into the Institute, with drooping shoulders and a dampened mood, as he lamented about being sent away from the Mumbai Institute.

 _For setting things on fire_ , Alec recalls fondly.

He smiles then, the rapid rise and fall of his chest slowing down considerably as Max's voice grounds him, as does the hand his mother placed on his shoulder a while ago. He brushes Magnus's hair away yet again, before moving his hand to his shoulder, rubbing slow, small circles there. 

 _Everything's going to be okay,_ he thinks warmly. He isn't sure to what extent he believes it, but the thought is comforting all the same. That, and the knowledge that his family will always be by his side. 

"Thank you, Max."

 

**Author's Note:**

> This would actually be a really nice moment, if you think about it. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you liked this. Kudos and feedback are, as always, appreciated.
> 
> Okay, I have to go buy some more tissues and rubs of ice cream now. 
> 
> Catch me on twitter: [ @shadowhunt_101 ](https://mobile.twitter.com/shadowhunt_101)
> 
> ~Dana.


End file.
